In today's Absolute Batman #19, the Caped Crusader meets with Jim Gordon. In the Absolute Universe, he's Gotham City's Mayor, and in a scene reminiscent of the classic DC Universe, they meet on a rooftop.
Both seem on the cusp of forming a partnership, but Gordon is acting a little out of character. He has something important to tell Bruce, something to do with his father's death in the zoo all those years ago, but the Mayor grows increasingly disturbed.
Clearly terrified, it seems he's fallen under the Scarecrow's spell, and after inadvertently setting himself on fire, he jumps from the building. Batman acts fast to save him, but his grappling hook only catches Gordon's coat, and we see the Mayor on the street below, dead.
To onlookers, it seems Batman has thrown Gordon from the roof and murdered him. That allows Slade Wilson to announce the Robin Program. Funded by Jack Grimm V, a.k.a. The Joker, it turns Batman's sidekicks in a parallel reality are his wards in the Absolute Universe.
"He takes the misunderstood, the wards of the state, the ones who've turned to criminality, of fallen through the city's many cracks, and helps them find their way," Deasthroke says. "Today, these young men and women are ready to give back. Guided by an exceptional leader, orphaned at an early age and raised by Mr. Grimm, this team will be Gotham's new totem."
Their leader is Dick Grayson, and the Robins are made up of him, Jason Todd, Tim Drake, Duke Thomas, and Stephanie Brown.
Deathstroke trained them and reveals here that they'll be piloting the massive mech suits teased on Absolute Batman #20's cover. Their mission? To take down Batman once and for all. The Dark Knight still has Alfred Pennyworth and Harley Quinn by his side, but will that be enough?
Check out some interior pages from Absolute Batman #19 below.
ABSOLUTE SCARECROW EMERGES FROM THE SHADOWS OF ARK M AS A NEW STORY ARC BEGINS...
Poison Ivy proved to be just one of the many horrors within the bowels of the ARK M facility, and as Joker sets his sights on Absolute Batman, he decides to enlist the help of one of the centre’s most terrifying doctors, Dr. Jonathan Crane.
While Bruce Wayne tries to align himself with Barbara Gordon, there’s more than one alliance formed in this issue. New debuts, new villains, new arc starts here.
ABSOLUTE BATMAN #19
Written by SCOTT SNYDER
Art & Cover by NICK DRAGOTTA
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